Pizza Dough Calculator

Baker's percentage expresses every ingredient as a percentage of the flour weight (flour is always 100%). This makes recipes easy to scale to any number of pizzas. For example, 63% hydration means 630g of water per 1000g of flour. Professional bakers use this system because it keeps ratios consistent regardless of batch size.

Hydration depends on the style. Neapolitan works best at 60-65%, New York style at 62-66%, Detroit at 70-75%, and pan pizza at 65-70%. Higher hydration produces a lighter, more open crumb but makes the dough stickier and harder to handle. Start at the low end of the range and increase as you gain experience.

Instant yeast (rapid rise) can be mixed directly into flour and activates quickly. Active dry yeast needs to be dissolved in warm water first and uses about 1.5x the amount of instant. Fresh (cake) yeast is perishable and uses 3x the amount of instant. All three produce the same result when properly converted. This calculator handles the conversion automatically.

Rise time varies by style and temperature. At room temperature (~22C/72F), Neapolitan and NY style benefit from 24 hours, Detroit needs about 2 hours, and pan pizza about 1.5 hours. Cold fermenting in the fridge (4C/40F) takes 3-4x longer but develops significantly more flavor. Many professionals cold-ferment Neapolitan dough for 48-72 hours.

For Neapolitan, use Tipo 00 flour (finely milled, 12-13% protein) like Caputo Pizzeria. For NY style, bread flour (12-14% protein) works best for that chewy texture. Detroit and pan styles work well with bread flour or all-purpose. Avoid cake flour or self-rising flour, which have too little protein to develop proper gluten structure.

The gluten is too tight. Let the dough rest at room temperature for at least 30 minutes after taking it out of the fridge. If it still springs back, let it rest another 15-20 minutes. Proper fermentation time also helps relax the gluten. Under-fermented dough is much harder to stretch.

Yes, and it often tastes better. After mixing and kneading, divide into balls, lightly oil, place in sealed containers, and refrigerate for 24-72 hours. The slow cold fermentation develops complex flavors. Take the dough out 1-2 hours before baking to let it come to room temperature and become easier to stretch.